On the morning of July 10th, Argentina defeated Canada 2-0 in the Copa América semi-finals, advancing to the final where they will face the winner of Uruguay and Colombia.
Argentina’s Olé newspaper noted that this is the fourth time in just over three years that Argentina has had a chance to win a major trophy: from winning the Copa América at the Maracana Stadium in 2021 to now reaching another final, this will be their fourth chance to lift a trophy in 1100 days. On the same day that France were eliminated from the European Championship, Scaloni’s team once again showcased their strength, aiming to defend their Copa América title.
On July 10, 2021, Scaloni led Argentina to victory in Brazil. In the Copa América final, they beat host nation Brazil 1-0, Di Maria scoring the only goal of the game. This victory ended a 28-year drought (18 tournaments and 5 finals). Messi was lifted high by his teammates, a moment that became the perfect symbol of the victory, marking the beginning of a new era for the Argentine national team. Since then, they have won two more finals, and are now on the verge of their fourth.
After winning the Copa América, Argentina played the European Championship champions, Italy, in the Finalissima. They put on a footballing masterclass at Wembley, winning 3-0 with goals from Lautaro Martínez, Di Maria and Dybala. In that match, Messi’s Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 32 games, setting a new national team record.
On December 18, 2022, in Qatar, Argentina played an epic final in the World Cup. Against a formidable France side featuring a superstar like Mbappe, Scaloni’s team showed their fighting spirit and ultimately triumphed. From the start of the match, Argentina demonstrated their power, Messi opening the scoring with a penalty, Di Maria scoring again in a final to give them a 2-0 lead.
However, Mbappe scored two goals in the final two minutes of the game to draw level and take the game into extra time. Messi once again put Argentina ahead, but Mbappe equalized again through a penalty. With the game drawing to a close, Kolo Muani had a chance to secure victory for France, but Argentina goalkeeper Martínez made a stunning save to deny him. Ultimately, the game went to penalties, where Argentina’s Martinez once again excelled, and Montiel scored the winning penalty to give Argentina the World Cup, adding a third star to their shirt.
Just over three years since their Copa América triumph at the Maracana, Argentina have once again reached the final and are looking to defend their Copa América title. In the semi-finals, they defeated Canada 2-0 with goals from Alvarez and Messi. Now, they await the winner of Uruguay and Colombia, who will play on Wednesday to decide the other finalist.
On Sunday night, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Argentina will once again be aiming for glory.
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